Chapter 25: The Plane Game

The hectic feel of the long stretch of queue ahead seemed rather relaxing after the day's ordeals, whether momentarily or not. For Harriet, it didn't matter that they had been stuck in the same line for almost thirty minutes, or that their plane was scheduled to leave in just over an hour. She cared only for a bed and a hot meal on the other end to comfort her and sooth her thoughts after a rather frightening and destructive encounter.

At the present moment, her head wasn't capable of the simplistic joys of comfort and she thought that a good enough sleep would do wonders, although the haunting, ghostly sight of the silhouetted figure was very prominent in her mind's eye. His freakish non-existent stare was penetrating her skin and causing her to shiver right down to the bones. Nothing before had ever seemed so evil, and she had witnessed many cruel trainers in her life on the Pokémon Ranch. She supposed, however, that it was due to the large threat that he placed on the world and how recklessly he used Pokémon. How he didn't seem to care that utilising them could be so harmful to nature and their souls… and how he showed only a mere aspect of his true abilities and powers today. If he was able to control a bunch of Rock Pokémon and supposedly gain complete control over technology, then what else could he eventually gain control over?

"Harriet… come on now, you've got to perk up… where's that kind hearted and joyful smile of yours? You for one told me earlier on to not stay behind and to carry on with our journey, so why then are your thoughts still on the matter? All it'll do is keep you locked away here…" He pointed to her head while quietly stroking her shoulder with his other hand to try and alleviate some of her enclosed concerns and nervous tension.

"I know, you're absolutely right," she suddenly spoke, attaching with it a huge and grateful smile that reflected her sudden mood change, "And anyway, that comment was very adult like Max, not something I would've expected you to have the skill to say," she joked, gently poking him in the stomach with her elbow as a sort of thank you.

"Ha-ha what a tease," he responded sarcastically, whilst shuffling along slightly as the progression of people moved forward, "You always know how to snap us out of a bad mood, and that's something I think is gonna come in real handy!"

"Max! Now who's the joker…? No morbid thinking please," she chuckled, turning the corner of the fashioned line under the instructions of the created path, made from red velvet ropes that guided their movements.

"I guess this day really did do something to the both of us eh? Well… luckily we're nearly out of this place, and then the adventures of Dewford can spark our fascination once again!"

The two Pokémon's capsules enlarged within her sweaty palm, and she knew they deserved and would relish from their long rest. The events had not only been strenuous for her, her fellow Rock trainer or even Harriet and Max, but also for all the Pokémon that participated in the standoff. Now, finally, her Nosepass and Rhyperior could take a lengthy and refreshing break within their PokeBalls before she returned back to her Gym and let them out, as per usual and as a custom, to be free and to roam and relax as they were made to.

"Alright, Nosepass and Rhyperior, thank you so much for all your help, we and all the citizens of Rustboro really appreciate the efforts you gave today, so take a nice long rest okay, return!" The two energy beams flung themselves from the round tip of the PokeBall, proceeding to make direct contact with the two large masses before withdrawing them into the stream and back into their balls.

"Phew… now what?" she sighed as she rested gently against the large shop window with two glittered-up mannequins on show with the latest seasons fashion.

The large rock troops were now fading into the distance, accompanied by some of her trusty Gym employees and also Nurse Joy's workers too. Now it was time for the cleanup crews to begin their operations, and that's where she and Brock fitted in, although their hearts pulled them to the large modernised airport that was only a matter of fifteen minutes away, where a matter of minutes made all the difference. Soon Roxanne would be left, once again, to run the show with no time for any more gallivanting, alas that was where her heart was supposed to be. Someday though, she hoped to see those two pearly faces again, beaming with joy because of their journey. One day the normality would return for her and for her city.

"Finally, just a few more minutes and we'll be checked into this damned flight," Max said, nervously fidgeting through his back pack to find the flight check in data that they had received.

"Calm down, calm down, we still have forty five minutes before the plane leaves, and we only have hand luggage so we're going to be in the waiting room for a…" her voice trailed off as her eyes flicked between the numerous fashion shops that were no longer a huge queue away. She was gleaming with the immense anticipated thrill, "… oh… err… and yea, we'll be onto that plane within a matter of minutes from there anyway."

"Yea you're right I suppose, sorry for my outburst, and I guess damned was the wrong word, that suggests it's doomed from the start right?" he joked, trying to instil an idea of being a more mature boy into Harriet, as their earlier chat had left him to believe she deemed herself slightly higher than he, although he was offering the advice.

"Yea you silly, now, give the lady the documents when she asks and we'll be out of here and onto Dewford Island sooner than you can say Hoenn League."

"Don't mock me; I'm not a child you know… I can hold a civilised conversation and do all the mature stuff and so on…"

"Yea… I know, but it's still fun to watch you squirm, and I think that novelty will never wear off…" she chuckled, reaching for her two PokeBalls that now rested on the inside sockets of her pink denim jacket, "Oh, and you're going to need to get Charmander's, Murkrow's and Budew's PokeBalls out to be scanned. Security has become real tight lately, but it's no biggie, just one little scan and we're through."

"Alright then, Dewford Island… Here we come!"

The gloomy essence still lingered inside the large metallic bulk that hovered above the Hoenn skies, gently gliding through the white gassy cotton balls that occupied the blue expanse. Inside, the resident beeping controls were all whirring away as the mass of Team Sukai operatives were whizzing backwards and forwards between tasks, preparing to engage the untested device that could immobilize Rustboro. Overlooking the hoard of the trusted Bridge Team was the shrouded individual, equipped with his tormented stare. His gaze fell over the lines of workers that were slumped over the electronic work stations pilled in two neat rows against the right and left hull of the Bridge. In the centre of the space were a few more stations that controlled navigation, piloting and any tactical uses. Everything was categorised and organised and nothing slipped under his radar.

"The hour's nearly up… how close are we to start up?" his chilling voice said.

"Sir, we're almost ready. The final calibrations have been input into the system by our two techs, and if our simulations are anything to go by, once activated Rustboro should be helpless in a matter of seconds. Everything will be under our control!"

"Good, this is very good…"

With those words, he quickly bolted from behind his desk; trotting down a few steps spread from left to right that separated his desk from the crew at work, before heading right to the front windows that gazed over the vast expanse before them.

"Alright then," once again with quick movements, he swivelled around to face all the Bridge Crew; "If our plan is to succeed we have to be well prepared. That Pendant is the main priority here, nothing else."

A sudden beeping interrupted his speech and he withdrew a small circular device from his pocket which was flashing a rhythmic red light with every beep. With one swift push of the device between his finger and thumb the beeping and flashing stopped.

"Yes?"

"Sir, this is Tech 1 reporting in."

"Go ahead!"

"The device is completely ready Sir, and Tech 2 and I can control everything from here with your go ahead! Unfortunately though we have yet to find a way to transfer complete control over to your station, but we've got the Tech Subordinates working on possibilities there."

"Well you've got my authorisation, and keep working on the transfer, but until then I want all Rustboro's transport under my control immediately, and then lock down the city by capturing all electronic devices. Inform me when you've accomplished this, Apollo out!" He released his grip on the device and folded it away into his clenched fist.

The room was eerily silent as the Bridge Crew eagerly awaited the furthering plans from their Boss. They were all lucky to have been selected to man Capsule 1, the transport that Apollo always used, and none of them wished to be demoted by simply continuing work or causing annoyance to him through any sounds or movements.

"Right, it seems like we're well underway now, so I want the main Principles to stay manned at their stations while the rest of you report down to the Delivery Bays where you'll be grouped into teams for the blockade and siege," he calmly spoke, waving his hand as a gesture for the actions he commanded.

As the shuffling bodies of the Subordinates left through the elevators at each corner of the Bridge, the remaining Principles all took their positions while staying attuned to everything Apollo was saying.

"When we arrive we shall meet up with my five Heads and their main Principles, you all will be grouped with me. The Heads should already have begun their descent upon Rustboro now and are awaiting my signal to move so we need to hurry along and arrive as soon as possible, so Helm, kick our speed up a notch."

"Sir, Yes Sir!"

"May I remind all of you that if we don't get this Pendant today then we'll have more tiresome hours of searching ahead of us, hours which we can't afford to lose. We need to acquire control over Hoenn so that shortly after we will be able to take over the entire world, then no-one can possibly interfere with our goals and plans for this world. We'll be able to make it the way we want to. So… if any of this is going to work… Communication, I need open channels with the five Heads, plus an activated tapping device that will give me quick access to the TV signals again so we can broadcast the messages as soon as we arrive. Understood?"

A unanimous cry of "Yes Sir," echoed throughout the room as all the main Principles began to work on their allocated tasks, general maintenance and planning. Nothing was going to stop them from proceeding with their plan. They had everything in place and soon Apollo and his Team Sukai would be in mere grasps of the Pendant.

Another beeping sound rang from the small circular device that Apollo was still clutching onto. With ease, he flipped the device between his finger and thumb and the channel was once again opened.

"Apollo here!"

"This is Tech 1 reporting in again Sir."

"What news do you bring," he stressed with pure rigidness, taking one last look at his crew at work and turning to face the emerging scenes of the urban heaven that was Rustboro.

"We have everything working perfectly, and transport is under our control, as are the majority of the electrical devices in the city, but as you said earlier in your announcement to Hoenn about having control of PokeBalls, we have yet to acquire them and the same goes for the Pokédex and other Pokémon related devices as they have complicated wiring that our machine can't break as of yet."

"Keep trying your best, transport though was our main priority and if we have that under control then we'll be fine. I've decided to leave you two on board when we arrive to keep control over everything, so you don't need to transfer control up here yet, but have your Subordinates keep working on a solution okay?"

"Yes Sir, understood!"

"And one last thing, I'm busy watching a plane take off right now… I want you to tap into its systems and have it begin circling around the city; the same goes for the other four that I believe are scheduled to leave within the next ten minutes, after that though halt all airplanes by shutting the systems completely off, along with all land based and water based vehicles. As for the planes that'll be in the air, I will relay further instructions to you… I think I have a little game to play with them!"

Finally Max and Harriet had the delights of a warming comfort that was oozing from the planes luxurious seating. The wait no longer ridiculed their thoughts, and the earlier distractions of the day had also temporarily been erased from their minds. How ordinary it had seemed at the time waking up to a day with complete freedom that only ended up being filled with hazardous obstacles: a farewell to Curtis and Rose, a brief yet productive encounter with Mark and then ultimately, to top off all that excitement, the tremendous onslaught of pure destruction. But now, although it didn't amount to much, a momentary bliss was rifling through their bodies, through their inner most cores. Peace, tranquillity and harmony were slowly lulling them into a secured rest.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," a crackly voice mumbled over the speaker system, "This is your captain speaking. I'd like to inform all passengers that we are ready for takeoff so please fasten all seat belts and turn off all mobile technology until the seat belt light disappears. We also ask that any Pokémon free from their PokeBalls be either put back inside or secured in their own booked seat… or with you. While we traffic down to the runway, our airhostesses will run through the safety procedures with you. I hope you enjoy your flight aboard Hoenn 910 and I hope you also have a pleasant journey."

As swiftly as the noise had arrived, the gurgling voice over the tannoy cut off and the marching procession of airhostesses appeared from their private staff cabin, proceeding to aline themselves neatly down the aisles. Max and Harriet, however, weren't interested in the formal waving of the arms, or the directional pointing towards the emergency exists. Their eyes wavered to the gleaming golden rays of the setting sun that poured itself, now meekly, over the stretch of runway they were preparing to charge down. The beauty of Rustboro still was as vibrant as ever, no matter what sort of terror had managed to cripple the city momentarily, and both trainers wished to absorb the remaining sights with a feeling of great happiness. A lot had occurred here over the past few days, and this city was now the birthing place of a great friendships and new journeying companions.

As they gazed out over the shoreline, allowing their eyes to cast one last glance over the fluorescent rippling colour of the ocean, they noticed the metallic shimmer of another plane that was slightly titled and on a circular course. They presumed, and rightly so, that it was preparing for a landing, along with the other three planes that had emerged out of a large thicket of clouds that obscured the view to Petalburg. Taking this with an ordinary satisfaction, the youngsters reclined into their seats and welcomingly drifted into relaxation while the plane slowly started shuddering with great speed down the runway.

The vibrations encompassed the body of the plane and soothingly added to the pleasuring rest for Max… until… nothing, only a gentle passage into the skies. Now his new adventure had begun, separate and void from any adult empowerment… for the moment and that was something he was willing to briefly revel in.

"Max?"

He quickly bolted out of his own thoughts, rapidly switching from his more predominant sleep mode over to his active brain functions while attempting to wrestle his eyes open.

"Err… yea Harriet, what's up?"

Her response wasn't immediate, and it was very clear through her actions that she was hesitant about asking, but her open nature wasn't letting her conceal her slight lapse in reasoning.

"Do you think we've made the right choice leaving Rustboro and all at a time like this?"

"Yea, sure, of course we have," he mulled, taking time to conjugate in his head his next response, "I must admit… I was a little resistant about leaving but it's very clear that if we're ever going to succeed in our own dreams that we must peruse them with PokeBalls at the ready. There was no point us staying behind to help clean up or tend and care for Pokémon. Yes we would have loved that and we want to have done something, however, Roxanne and Brock weren't going to just let us throw our futures away, even if it was just for a couple of days!"

She sighed, acknowledging his comments, before attempting to further settle herself into the chair with a few toss's and turns. After a few more rolls she finally ended up in the comfiest position on her left hand side, which gave her a wondrous view over the scenery below. And then… it became obvious.

A huge puzzling complexity struck her. She knew something wasn't right. Their positioning in the sky, the course of the plane… all of it resembled the earlier postures of the four planes they had seen circling Rustboro… but why?

"Max, Max! Stop falling asleep," she squealed whilst vigorously squeezing and shaking his arm to boldly get his attention, "Look!"

He sheepishly arose from his solitary meditation and blindly gazed along the trail her finger was depicting. At first he just shrugged the situation off as Harriet wishing to show him something exquisite and elegant; a view from the heavens, but then his brain began to notice the odd signals too.

"Hang on a second… woh, what's going on?"

"Exactly, that's why I woke you up."

"I wasn't asleep I'll have you know… just… dozing."

"Ok, whatever, we haven't got the time to argue now cos… well, do you think we should say something?"

"Umm, I don't know. Surely they must know exactly why we're doing this. We can't have come full circle for nothing."

"But look Max, the other planes… we're all evenly distributed along the Rustboro skyline and we're all going round in circles. Max, nothing about this situation is right… or normal!"

By now the other passengers were also scrambling around the windows making the same observation as Harriet. The shining objects were spiralling in unison along a predetermined path that seemed to follow the line of the outskirts of Rustboro, from the sea right up to the Petalburg Woods. No-one was the least bit sure what was going on, and Harriet even noticed confused and panic expressions beginning to override the normally calm nature of the airhostesses. Her thoughts now started to lead her to a nerving conclusion: if the airhostesses were perplexed then something was indeed dire and potentially unsafe.

As the passengers panic was beginning to rise and all their attention returned to the inside of the plane, now flooded with constant screams of questions that had the airhostesses consoling the phones with the captain, Harriet took one last look outside. To her horror their conditions had quickly worsened. No longer were they rotating around the city, stuck on what seemed to be an endless loop. No, instead, all of them had changed course, wings levelled out and noses headed right for each other over the heavily populated shopping area.

The earlier terror that rang through the streets had finally dispersed, along with the disappearance of the Pokémon and most of the rubble they had caused. Things seemed plausibly better now and on the verge of reaching a sensible realm of normality, and Roxanne thought that at least this would bring a little more interest to their city and hopefully a few more busy days at her Gym and school. Standing opposite her in the thicket of the remaining bustle of the workers was Brock, attempting yet failing to successfully impress a Nurse Joy. At least something was vaguely normal.

"Brock, get over here for a second could you," she called, noticing a thankful sigh erupt from the Nurse Joy as she was able to return back to her duties. Brock then quickly excused himself from her company, still filled with bucket loads of infatuation, and headed over to Roxanne.

"Everything okay?" he asked once he arrived next to her.

"Yea, of course… I just thought maybe that Nurse Joy could use a little break from you, you know," she timidly stressed, deciding to give him a little pat on the arm as a forewarned comforter, fully well expecting imminent denials from him.

"Oh, well, yea you're right, she's probably got a lot of work to do and I suppose my charms just add as a distraction," he spoke with clear sincerity.

"Right… of course," she chuckled, "Anyway, I suppose we had better head back to the Gym now, everything's sorted here and the work crews have their schedules so we can join them bright and early tomorrow morning after a good night's sleep."

"Hmm, very true, and a very good plan too," he kindly said as his gaze wandered into the atmospheric dimming lights of the sky, "There's no point trying to help when we can't actually be of assistance here!"

His eyes continued to survey the wondrous emotions of colour dancing elegantly in the slithering heat, all radiant in their beauty. Nothing could have been more calming than the dreamy sights of a setting sun after such a hectic day, and the five small shimmering beacons in the sky just added to that splendour. Suddenly though, something logical seemed to click in his thoughts. What objects were often present in the skies… planes? That was definitely it, but why then were these five planes all heading straight for each other right above Rustboro? Was their day really over?

"No! It can't be!"

"Huh? What's the matter Brock?"

"Look up, look directly up, now!" With no hesitation, she immediately acted as asked.

At first she couldn't notice anything out of the ordinary and just supposed Brock was referring to the delectable sights of the blazing orange sky, but then, just like Brock, she spotted the strange shiny beacons, all seeming to slowly be nearing each other.

"Oh… no… that can't be planes, no… no way!"

As complete confusion and panic started to gain control of her for the second time that day, the television monitors, just like before, sprang to life as a blurry image began to fade into view. Everyone that had remained in the streets now instinctively stopped their current jobs, all turning to glare towards the screens. Their eyes were yet again pierced with the cold and chilling silhouetted image, now hidden by the dimming light that was clearly visible inside the metallic hulk he was in. Somewhere above them was this monster, infiltrating their homes from the skies with whatever gadgets he had at his disposal. And now, he was back again.

"Welcome citizens of Hoenn, and more specifically those of Rustboro, to another announcement from Sukai," his words seemed to fill him with absolute pleasure. "It has only been mere hours since I last spoke to you, but some interesting factors have come to light since then. I know exactly what I want and where it is now, which means I no longer need your cooperation, although if you wish to oblige then things will be so much swifter and easier on your part. Today will mark the beginning of something more amazing than any of us can imagine… more amazing than anything God can imagine, for those believers out there. Arceus will even cringe when he realises Team Sukai's true potential, our true power! Nothing can stop us! So… we'll be in touch later with updates on our progress… and… oh, while I still remember, for those of you in Rustboro I have one last gift to give. If you would be so kind as to look above then there may be a spectacular show for you tonight. Though, I would like to point out, it's out of my hands now and up to those on the planes as to whether or not you'll receive a fantastic display tonight, if they can't solve the riddles I've given them… then… boom!"

The displays all immediately switched off as the cackling croak of his voice was the last thing to be heard. The noise lingered in the speakers until the monitors had completely retracted back into the seat rest in front and the soft leather lid had hidden the screen from view. The plane was entirely hushed, encompassed within tight pockets of silence.

The speakers then began to buzz again, and the moods of those on board began to decrease even more, until a familiar voice began to speak. "This is your captain again. As you have just witnessed on our monitors, our planes are no longer under our control… and… and… we're on a collision course with four other planes. As that man rightly said, we've just been sent an electronic riddle that requires us to input the answer before the controls are returned to us, and if we input the wrong answer then we're completely locked out… for good…"

The monitors then started to withdraw from their sockets in the head rests in front, this time with poignant green words written all across the black void.

"But luckily for us, we have 200 heads on board that can all think about this, and then the most common answer can be submitted. Hopefully… no that's the wrong word… We are going to get out of this situation, as are the other four planes!"

Max was chilled at the silence that still loitered in the plane. He doubted that anyone's spirits would have lifted even if the Captain had walked out here with some sort of device that could have magically transported them to safety. The shock levels and the flowing stream of fear was all that was probably capable of occupying their minds right now, not a bunch of green pixels.

Somewhere down the opposite aisle to where Max and Harriet where sitting, a man leapt up with great enthusiasm and courage. He quickly and expressively made sure that everyone noticed him as if this was his shining moment in the spotlight, although it was likely to be due to the ever shortening time they had left. Without so much of a word, others followed in his footsteps and began to stand, metaphorically standing against the immoral actions of Team Sukai.

Finally, after a few more moments of pausing, the first man began to speak, "The Captain's right everybody! We're the ones that have to do something here, to show that guy that thinks he can do whatever he likes with us just who he's messing with. We're no ordinary bunch of people folks; everyone here is unique so we can all bring something unique and different to this puzzle here. There's no point in us waiting on the other planes to figure their puzzles out… so… let's get to work eh?"

His encouragements seemed to have paid off and the effortless bodies were now beginning to do something productive by reading the writing before them. Max took one last look out of the window that Harriet had so kindly left vacant while she leaned forward in her seat to scan the words more closely. Everything was now shrouded by darkness; the day's end. The only visible things were the bright circles of danger that indicated another close presence that at any minute could easily whisk itself off to safety. Now he needed to be whisked off to safety, and so he rejoined the challenge ready for just about any believable solution to become clear.

Royal in ascent, its flowing majesty rests. Above is the electric green; an Apollo in itself. With yellow like red it's decorated and with purity it reigns. A distant watcher never interfering with its Subordinates.

"This has to be a description of some sort, a Pokémon maybe?" Max quickly noted, turning to Harriet for a little guidance on the subject.

"My same thoughts exactly, and because of the constant references to royalty do you think it's a Legendary Pokémon?"

"Yes possibly, or perhaps a flying type, the reference to Apollo, then above, and then a distant watcher."

"I suppose that narrows it down a little then, but still I don't get what significance this has, if you think about it Max, Team Sukai are likely to have picked descriptions of Pokémon that are related to them… their goals… something like that."

"Wait… maybe you're onto something here. Sukai sometimes takes the meaning of Sky, so Team Sky perhaps. I'm so glad I paid attention at school, I knew being a nerd would pay off at some point. This is just brilliant! And it now makes sense why there's possible hinting about a flying type then, and royalty, perhaps they deem themselves as royalty?"

"Or like I said earlier, a Legendary maybe… or a flying Legendary Pokémon?"

The two continued to bounce ideas off each other, staying utterly aware of the planes situation in the process. Just by taking a quick glance out the window it was clear that they had probably about ten more minutes left before any form of dodging the other planes would become incredibly hard. It was also obvious to Max that one set of lights had vanished higher into the atmosphere, already having unlocked the answer to their riddle and begun the accent into the thrills of safety. Now it was down to four!

As their voices sustained the frequent chattering, a couple of people in close proximity began to stray from their own thinking to listen more attentively to what these two were saying. It didn't seem to matter to them that the two were just young infants in comparison to their own ages, in actual fact, as Max had rightly pointed out, they were practically hot off education and bustling with all the Pokémon knowledge they could dream of. Max and Harriet were probably the gold mine of information.

"Hey, these kids are onto something everybody…" the man in the row in front said, turning around in his chair and clearly showing them off to everyone else on the plane, "Go on…" he instructed the two youngsters, "Tell them what you've just been discussing!"

The plane once again fell into quietness as the passengers perked up their interest. Max took a heavy gulp before attempting to assert some authority and begin drilling those on board with the ideas that Harriet and he had discussed. After a few coughs to clear his throat, he hesitantly stood up and turned to look at the majority of faces.

"Umm, well… we were… umm…"

"Get on with it mate, we don't have much time!" the man in front respectively said.

"Okay… well… we were thinking… throughout the riddle there is constant references to royalty which Harriet deduced as referring maybe to a Legendary Pokémon, and alongside that there is also nods to the sky or being above which could well link with a flying type as the word Sukai from the team's name can also mean Sky… but we haven't been able to come up with any solutions."

"That doesn't matter; we have something to base our thinking off now and…"

"Rayquaza… yes Rayquaza," this time a woman quickly leapt out of her seat, taking up position in the aisle and gracefully apologising to the man in front of Max for her rude interruptions, "Think of the Hoenn legends about the weather trio; Kyogre, the keeper of the sea, Groudon, the protector of the land, and then finally Rayquaza, the Weather Trio master and the master of the Sky."

"We don't have anything else, I say yes that has to be it," one of the airhostesses now agreed, proceeding to advance towards the phone that linked through to the Captain's Cabin, "We're going to have to go with it, we're running out of time and this is the most plausible and best answer we have… if not the only answer. So who's in agreement?"

A vast wave of hands flew into the air, creating a sea of anticipating movements. As the airhostess scanned across the hands that she could see, it seemed apparent that everybody had raised their hand… so it became final… Rayquaza was the answer.

"Captain, this is Angela speaking… we've come to the conclusion that the answer is Rayquaza, everybody is in agreement."

The loudspeakers once again activated, this time with the sound of faint beeps over the other end, "Good, I was hoping something would happen soon, we've had no luck in here so we'll go with that and hopefully join the other three planes that have pulled away… Z… A…"

Another flow of hushed silence swept through the aisles, no-one dared make a sound. Every single person and Pokémon alike were holding their breath. Nothing was happening and no-one wanted to jinx their chances. Suddenly the crackling of the speakers roared with triumph as the Captain and his co-pilot shouted with happiness.

"It's worked, it's worked. The controls have been returned to us!"

The shuddering motions of a quick accent instantly took hold of the plane and they began to soar into the vast expanse, home to their riddle, in time to avoid the remaining plane as it too began to swerve left of its position. Every plane was free from Team Sukai, free from terror and free from captivity. Everything was vaguely returning to normal again in a repetitive feel of déjà vu, but at least some warm relaxations of security were washing through the torment.

"Well… you all did it," the Captain proudly thanked, "I can't thank you enough, and so I think it's time we'd best make our way on over to Dewford Island before anything else happens here, no point hanging around anymore."

As the plane circled round Rustboro for the final time, gauging its bearing on the way, the cheers on board continued to sprout from wells of freedom and hope. Those on the streets below began to dance with joy as Rustboro had narrowly escaped terror for the second time that day, and this time a bright prospect hovered on the horizon… but only for those on the planes.

The darkness filtered into Capsule 1 as it menacingly hovered in a cloud layer above Rustboro. The flashing lights were still whizzing away and the main principles were busy with their last preparations for landing. At the forefront of the bridge stood Apollo, lowly watching as his little game disbanded and the flying machines began to head out of reach of his control. How fun it had been, watching them trying to decipher his little cryptic puzzles, failing to grasp the true serenity of the creatures he had described. One day very soon though he knew they would witness the true power of those Legendaries first hand, under his own control… but only once the Pendant had become his.

The backstreets of Rustboro were the perfect staging area for their meet, quiet, blackened and inconspicuous. Most citizens by now had returned to the comforting pulls of their homes, where their own keep sake feelings of security were, and this left the usually quiet streets even more attractive to Butch and Cassidy.

The portable electronic machines were already set up from their earlier conversation with Giovanni, a conversation where their own moral ethics had, for some unknown reason, decided to activate. Nevertheless, ignoring the lure that their new PokeBall had acquired, they had a job to do, one that didn't seem to conflict with their attitudes; destroying Team Sukai was a relishing thought and they were finally ready to begin operations.

The imaging system kicked into action and the monitors began displaying the image of a metallic building, filled to the brim with Rockets all being allocated sectional teams that would deploy around the region of Hoenn. After a few momentary pauses, a small face popped into view.

"This is the Section 1 Leader with the Kanto Troops, what is your current situation Miss Cassidy?"

"Glad to finally meet you, I've heard a lot about your politeness, it'll be a good disguise while you're out here," the blond lass responded, "Anyway, onto the important matters, we've sent the location spots of deployment over to your systems now and assigned the different Sections certain tasks."

"Right, I'll get out tech teams to begin encoding it right away."

"Good, now, Section 1 and 2 will head to Dewford Island where we will meet them in a couple of day's time. Your missions will become clear then, and we need you to deploy as soon as possible… which means now! As for the other Sections… some have been assigned to filter operations and others undercover operations. Each will know what to do and each Section Leader should begin preparations as soon as they board their designated flights. Remember though, we have to stay subtle which means no uniforms and no outlandish, unwarranted behaviour like the trio of Jessie, James and Meowth did the last time they were out here. We can't have Team Sukai aware of our presence like Aqua and Magma were."

"Understood, Kanto over and out!" the young female said, immediately disconnecting all communications. Everything was now moving along nicely.